Garden thread

pabmac wrote: »

We found some surprise squash volunteers! We had some extra soil so we piled it around them and made a new bed. They’re probably some strange accidental hybrid, but I’m excited about it anyway 😅

Love it I'm always finding surprise plantings throughout my garden. This year I have tomato plants springing up in my new strawberry bed. I'm just pulling them because my regular tomato plants are turning into bushes. I throw everything into my compost pile all year long and then just throw the compost into my garden as needed so we never know what's going to come to life. A few years ago we had something curious growing and finally figured out it was trying to be a honeydew melon.

So good luck with your squash newcomers!!

I found a few more heat casualties in that I had to snip off about half a dozen tomatoes yesterday. Blossom end rot. But there are a bunch more that look fine. There are also zucchini and eggplant coming - about half a dozen each. Raspberries are ripening. And I somehow kept the soil moist enough that the beets I re-planted are starting to make an appearance. The temperature has finally moderated, so hopefully that's the worst of it.

Inconsistent moisture in this case. At 37C the soil was dessicating between waterings.

@MsCzar Our beans are just barely losing their blossoms but it looks like we won't be lacking in the bean department either.
And today I picked my first zucchini, I was so excited! But I'll likely feel different in a couple more weeks.

I have several fruit trees; it is very convenient to have my fruits, my wife likes to collect them. I have several Ambassador roses. I'm thinking of expanding their number, and I don't know how many I'll add yet. There is also a beautiful lawn that was planted last year. The seeds of which I bought from this site https://www.growgardener.com/the-5-best-kentucky-bluegrass-seeds-for-your-lawn/. I'm thinking of making a small pond with different fish, crayfish and jugs. When I was a child, my grandfather also had a pond, and I liked to feed the fish in the morning and watch them swim.

stop using links in your comments

MsCzar wrote: »

"Well, there's egg and beans; egg bacon and beans; egg bacon sausage and beans; beans bacon sausage and beans; beans egg beans beans bacon and beans; beans sausage beans beans bacon beans tomato and beans..."

Umm... beans are in.

I'm about a month behind you!

My green beans are ready and got plenty to share. Onions are growing well, tomatoes are getting bigger but losing lots of lower stems so hopefully they'll ripen before the whole thing disappears. Zucchini are doing well, as are the green peppers and hot peppers. My sweet potatoes are actually perking up and doing well now. Can't wait to see what they do because this is the 1st time I've ever planted them. And my cucumbers are trailing and blossoming. So my garden has become a happy growing little place.

My strawberries didn't do as well as they did last year. Someone told us they do really ell every other year then that alternate year can be iffy. Any truth to that?

@SuzanneC1l9zz It's an amazing feeling isn't it? To create something very good, natural and healthy, save money in the process and watch it grow. I love gardening and wish I knew more about it. That, plus wish I had a much bigger area for it. I could feed a lot of people.

I planted radishes today. And spinach for fall, but it's probably a week or three too early. And the second round of winter beets.

First ripe Sungold tomatoes the other day. Yum. San Marzanos are all still green.

Totally gorged myself on blueberries. I got behind on picking them.

Raspberries -- the primacanes seem to be done. Overheated a few weeks ago. But the floracanes are growing like mad; I cut them back to five or six feet today so I can reach whatever fruits.

Grapes are starting to look good.

Peas. Poor things. All toasty. I will plant some for fall, but need to figure out when.

Bartlet pears might be ripe soon. Figs? Who knows. Asian pears (Chojuro) ripen later. Plums are just falling off the tree unripe. I think it was the heat. Marion berries... all dried up and crinkly. Heat. Mint is doing fine. As is the flatweed; I wish I knew a good way to kill the crap out of it.

Enjoying the volunteer nasturtium. Different colors even than the parent plants I had last year. Fun stuff. I'll try to spread them some more this year. Calendula comes up everywhere. I don't mind. I weed it where it's in the way, and I nurture it where it's not.

One of the lavender plants is very nice right now. The other is done; I should deadhead it to see if it will bloom again.

My neighbor brought a couple hives home. Her girls really like one of my water stations. Always bees and wasps out there. Nice. Birds too. Some of the birds like to snack on the bees. Yah. I know. It's the birds and the bees.....

@mtaratoot Your variety always amazes me. Thank you for sharing so I can live vicariously through you.

@ReenieHJ

I get things on my tomato leaves. I don't worry too much about it. I'm kind of silly for planting San Marzano; they always get blossom end rot. I'm just hoping to get a bunch anyway. I can cut out the bad parts if it isn't extensive. Just to get on my nerves, the very first fruit (out in a pot in the driveway) got rot. It is hard to keep it evenly watered unless I water it twice a day - it got toasty during the heat wave. I bet it will be OK. I actually need to go out and prune some of the lower leaves to increase air flow.

Later in the season, there WILL be powdery mildew on the grapes. Just happens. Probably on the tomatoes too. The beets do great.

One of my normal challenges is that I am often traveling during harvest season so I don't get to enjoy some of my bounty. This year I'm doing better. Keep planting what you like; the weather will do what it does. Maybe soil amendments would help your tomatoes?

MsCzar wrote: »

Ugh! Looks like I'll be tearing out at least a third of my green beans tomorrow. Bean blight.

😟

Pretty sure it could be two different monsters. Mold can be tamed or prevented by spraying milk on the all leaves, Blight is bacteria and depending on type, can live on the plants and/or soil. Bean blight stays on the leaves and I am kicking myself for not immediately pulling the first infected plant. Now I will likely lose the entire bean bed. Copper based treatments are available to treat blight.

Picked my first tomato and cucumber yesterday; this is when I really appreciate my garden. There's nothing better than garden ripe tomatoes and cucumbers.

Still getting zucchini by the truck loads, beans are done, onions are looking good, sweet potatoes are vining well; we'll see how those play out. Still getting enough lettuce for salads. Happy camper.